james76667

I ahave recentley trying to quit drnking again. have had 2 yrs sober here recentley but started back to drinking a littlae over a month ago. Went to De-tox and was to closterfobick for me and checked myself out at day 3. The meds were a nice try but you could't even get an asprin without a psychyc order... and doc's we're not around much, Anyways, i have a current private Doctor who has me taking Seroquel 50mg and xanax 1mg starting yesterday. This is working pretty damn well but he also wants me on Antabuse but the pharmacy didn't have it in stock till Monday....10/29. I've been hearing horror stories about this antabuse stuff and really do not want to add those kinda problems of Antabuse along with a successful de-tox and start recovery. Anyone out there know about this Antibuse stuff and the pro's and con's?

Elisabeth888

If you drink on it you can die.

I just stopped taking mine so that I could drink. For me it was pointless. It also gave me a weird medicinal smell, which of course my arrogant asa didn't care for.

Dee74

Welcome (back) James

I have no experience with antabuse at all. Why not discuss your concerns with your Dr, or at least your pharmacist?

D

bjames

I was told that it was pretty dangerous. You can accidentally be exposed to products (cleaning products for example) that contain alcohol and get violently ill. An alternative is Naltraxone. Ask your doctor about it. I was on it for about 4 months. It helps with cravings.

escapist

Well, I can promise you this, if you take antabuse, you will stop drinking. It takes a while for it to build up in your body. Antabuse is not recovery. It just gets you sober so hopefully you can clear your head and come up with a plan to stay that way. Your Dr will tell you what to stay away from. Good Luck

RockerChick

On it now and I'm finding it is building back up my trust with my family and I can't stand to be sick so when I had cravings last night that were pretty bad I did not give in. It is working for me so far.

sugarbear1

you have to be sober to take that. it's not a detox drug. it has been around for many years.

detox and try a method for staying stopped like Aa, Rational Recovery, AVRT, SMART, Life Ring, or Women for Recovery.

gonzo4419

As it is your personal doctor who has recommended it then you should consider it. Your pharmacy won't have it stocked as it (can't remember exactly) a synthetic, or requires 2 different compounds or something along those lines so is made to order and no one stocks it at the retail level, I usually try to refill my prescription a week early, they always say it'll be a few days. I've used it a number of different times, with varying success. Basically how it works is, after its built up in your system, if you drink you'll get sick, you won't die from it if you do drink while taking it (or doctors would never take the chance that an alcoholic won't drink), but you may feel like you want to.

The wikipedia page here sums it up well Disulfiram - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Easiest way to sum it up is, imagine drinking, and instead of getting drunk for a few (many) hours and sleeping it off, your body chemically bypasses that and you get the joyous hangover about 20 minutes after you start consuming.

My main problem was either having success to the point where I didn't take it anymore, and eventually wound up bingeing again, or other times where I stopped taking it planning to drink a few days from now. It stays in your system for up to 2 weeks, so thats the major disincentive, you basically have to be going through sobriety and say, I'm going to start drinking again in 2 weeks and stick to that (it's crazy but I've thought it a few times). I had only ever drank after being off it for about 3 days minimum, but my heart would beat like crazy, could hear it in both ears like drums. Didn't really get the rest of the possible symptoms, but my uncle (who I found out about it from from) had many symptoms.

And to clarify, this isn't a magic pill that will make you stop drinking (speaking from personal experience), it is something that chemically alters what it does to the alcohol consumed. It is just another major disincentive to consider if you are currently in recovery. It won't stop you from drinking, but it can help.

Shoebox62

I'm on Antabuse as part of an outpatient program I've been in for the past 10 weeks. It definitely serves as an incentive NOT to drink, although several people in my group have relapsed while on it with mixed results. We're on low dosage (half the normal dose), and some of the relapsers got sick, others just got a rash and became very flush. The fact that they would even try and drink while on Antabuse just shows the power of the disease. One thing to remember is that Antabuse can cause liver issues. We have to get periodic blood tests to ensure that everything is OK, and some people have had to go off of the med due to irregularities in their results. Definitely don't take it without medical supervision.

wpainterw

Yes, there's lots of information out there. My own experience is that, although it may buy you some time free of alcohol to gather your thoughts and work up your courage, it merely postponed the beginning of my real recovery or, even worse, made it less likely since it led to a false sense of security, "I'm all right now. I can handle booze if I'm just very careful." All the time the tiger is stalking you and you are whistling away and not looking behind your back.
Antabuse locks you up chemically for awhile. Allows the body to get its neurotransmitters and receptors sorted out in an alcohol free environment. That's the beneficial aspect. The negatives are (1) the very real risks of being on antabuse and thinking you can have just one or two drinks (such as a heart attack or stroke), and (2) a false sense of well being and security which may lead to an indefinite postponement of any plan to begin a real recovery without antabuse. If you decide to take it I think it would be wise for you to start a program of recovery right away, such as attending AA or some other support group.

W.